Blue Badge Tourist Guides
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Dinosaurs And Destruction at the Crystal Palace
Most Blue Badge Guides, when conducting a tour of London, will give priority to what people can see. Occasionally, however, they will mention a building that has been lost to fire, bombing or development. One such is the Crystal Palace, originally found in Hyde Park.
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Walks & Tours
There is no better time to visit the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park than spring or summer. The Park opened fully in April 2014 and has since welcomed millions of visitors. It covers 560 acres and people visiting can enjoy the beautiful parklands, idyllic riverside lawns, giant climbing walks and intricate fountains.
A View From Above: 10 London Rooftop Bars And Restaurants
Who doesn't love a great view? And even better if there's good food and/or classic cocktails to go with it. As you take a break from sightseeing for refreshment and relaxation, let your Blue Badge Tourist Guide help you seek out the most stunning vistas across London. With an ever-increasing number of steel and glass skyscrapers heading for the heavens in the financial district, the area known as the City of London is a great place to start.
Celebrating the Chinese New Year in London
The wonderful Christmas lights in Central London are coming down, and red lanterns are beginning to appear around Soho and in particular Chinatown. This is part of the celebration for Chinese New Year which is also known as the Spring Festival. This year it falls on the 28th January, the first day of spring in the lunisolar calendar.
Why London Has The Best Literature Tours In The World
If you're a fan of literature, there's no better place to visit than London. Book a tour with a Blue Badge Tourist Guide and walk in the footsteps of authors like William Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, and Charles Dickens. The city has preserved its history so well in places that you can still feel the source of the writers' inspiration.
Pearly Kings And Queens On The Streets of London
As well as the important buildings and monuments, Blue Badge Tourist Guides have to be aware of distinctive characters on the streets of London. None are more distinct than the Pearly Kings and Queens who dress up in the 'colourful' costumes and raise money for charity. In fact, a Pearly costume is usually made from black and white materials, with occasionally a brightly coloured scarf (as on this photograph) or feathers adorning a pearly hat or cap.
Posts in: Museums & Galleries
William Blake In London - Largest Exhibition Opens at Tate Britain
A phrase which many Blue Badge Tourist Guides use, particularly when taking people outside London, is 'England's green and pleasant land.' It comes from William Blake's famous poem Jerusalem which is often sung as a hymn on patriotic occasions, most recently at the Last Night of the Proms, the series of classical music concerts held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall.
Stanley Kubrick Exhibition At The Design Museum In London
London Blue Badge Tourist Guides usually have a working knowledge of film releases and locations, particularly anything to do with those highly successful franchises Harry Potter and James Bond. However, the director Stanley Kubrick, who began life in the Bronx and ended up living in Britain, could never be pigeon-holed or defined by a franchise.
Leonardo da Vinci In London - 500 Years On From His Death
This year marks 500 years since the death of the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci in May 1519. Although he was born in the heart of Tuscany in Italy, Leonardo had a profound influence on art the world over. You can see evidence of this right here in London. Leonardo's image features in mosaics decorating the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum. We are also lucky to have several works in London by the great master. These display not only his creative genius but also his intellect and huge appetite for knowledge.
Vincent van Gogh And Britain Exhibition At Tate Britain Museum In London
London's Blue Badge Tourist Guides often take their groups around the city's art galleries and are trained to be familiar with the works of major painters. One of these is Vincent van Gogh. Many of us know a few famous facts about the Dutch post-Impressionist -- he only sold one painting during his life; he cut off his ear and later committed suicide. Brilliant artist, unstable person is the general view of Vincent van Gogh.
A Tale Of Three Paintings – Where To Start At The National Gallery In London
When visitors come to London's National Gallery it is an overload to the senses. There are so many styles, so many characters, so many stories. There is too much to take in! Well, let me tell you where you might start…. As the famous song says… 'Start at the very beginning…!' When entering via the modern Sainsbury Wing of the National Gallery you are introduced to some of the earliest paintings.
I Am Ashurbanipal Exhibition at the British Museum in London
The British Museum is truly a world museum with collections ranging from Africa, Oceania and the Americas to The Middle East, Ancient Greece and Rome to Asia and back to Britain and Europe.
The National Army Museum In London
The newly opened National Army Museum in Chelsea area of London tells the story of the British army over the past 400 years. It is felt that many people know little about what the army does, let alone the soldier's real experience now or in the past. The museum seeks to bridge the gap between the army and British society.
Visiting The Postal Museum In London
The Postal Museum was the only finalist in the 2018 Museum of the Year shortlist to be located in London. Although the postal service has been operating for 500 years, The Postal Museum in London only opened its doors in its present form a year ago in Phoenix Place near the Mount Pleasant sorting office, where modern postal vans can still be seen dispatching mail.
The birth of London's Museum Quarter in South Kensington
South Kensington in London is synonymous with museums. Three of our best known national museums can be found here: the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum, known affectionately to many as The V&A.
Top 10 Reasons Why A Tour of Tate Britain In London Should Be On Your Bucket List
The art-loving and generous founder of the Tate, sugar magnate Henry Tate, collected contemporary British art. He knew what he liked; pictures (some say sentimental) that told a story, animal subjects, and landscapes. He bought works by Millais, Stanhope Forbes, and Luke Fildes, displayed in his own gallery at Park Hill. However, intellectuals sneered at his taste. Resolved to found a public gallery of British art with his own pictures, the gallery finally opened in 1897.
Churchill War Rooms: The Nerve Centre of Resistance
The recent release of the Winston Churchill movie, Darkest Hour has brought one of London's most popular tourist attractions into even sharper focus. The movie, in which Gary Oldman brilliantly captures the look, mannerisms and voice of Britain's great wartime leader, is largely set in the Churchill War Rooms.
Sandycombe Lodge - J.M.W. Turner's Thames House Re-Opens
Sandycombe Lodge, the Thames-side villa designed by J. M. W. Turner, has now been re-opened to the public, following a £2.4 million conservation programme. Built in Twickenham in 1813, it was a peaceful retreat for him and he lived there with his father until 1826. Using Turner's sketches, a William Havell drawing of 1814, architectural evidence and paint analysis, the Turner's House Trust has returned the house to its original form and decoration as closely as possible.
Two Hundred Years Of The Parthenon Marbles At The British Museum
The year 2017 marks the bicentenary of the exhibition of the Parthenon Marbles at the British Museum. The artefacts were removed from the Athenian Acropolis in 1801 and 1802 by Thomas Bruce, seventh Lord Elgin British Ambassador (1799–1803) to the Ottoman Empire. The sculptures were commissioned in the fifth century BC as part of the rebuilding of the City of Athens ordered by the statesman Pericles following the successful war against the Persians.
Handel's Water Music Manuscript on Display at Foundling Museum
As Chairman of the Royal Society of Musicians, I am delighted that one of our treasures, the oldest surviving score of Handel's Water Music, will be displayed in the Handel Gallery at the Foundling Museum (7 July – 6 October 2017) to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first performance on 17 July 1717.
John Constable Exhibition at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
John Constable (1776 – 1837) came from the country to the capital, portrayed a calm, unchanging England and was devoted to one woman, whom he waited for, married and then mourned when she died from consumption after bearing seven children in nine years.
The Rosetta Stone at London's British Museum – Uncovering the Secrets of Ancient Egypt
One of the most popular items in the British Museum in London is the Rosetta Stone. It is rather unremarkable. It is the height of a child, cracked at the edges, lacking colour, and with inscriptions on only one side. There is little beauty in it, and the inscriptions are boring decrees - yet it is maybe one of the most famous stones in the world. For over 20 years it became the focus of a race to crack a code of strange pictures and shapes and in doing so uncover the life of Ancient Egypt.
10 Reasons to Visit The National Portrait Gallery, London
One of the most overlooked and yet fascinating galleries in London is the National Portrait Gallery. If you're interested in British history or would like to check up on 20th century faces, the National Portrait Gallery is a great destination. Often overlooked, it sits behind the National Gallery but has a completely separate identity. The National Portrait Gallery holds around 200,000 portraits of people from diverse backgrounds who have all been chosen for their great achievements or aristocratic connections. See some of the most famous people of the last 500 years of British history.
10 Things That May Surprise You About Works of Art at The National Gallery, London
In 1824 the House of Commons agreed to pay £57,000 for the art collection of the wealthy banker John Julius Angerstein. His 38 pictures became the core of a new national collection. Great encouragement came from another collector, Sir George Beaumont, who donated 16 paintings to the new gallery and in 1838 the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square finally opened its doors.
Top 10 Things To See At London's Victoria & Albert Museum
With a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects, London's Victoria & Albert Museum is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design. You would need many years – maybe a lifetime - to look through this unequalled treasure trove so what better solution than hiring a Blue Badge Tourist Guide to select and explain some of the exceptional artefacts on display.
Top 10 Facts About Tate Modern
Tate Modern is the jewel in the crown of modern art galleries in London. It holds the nation's collection of modern art from 1900 to the present day. With 5.7 million visitors it is in the top ten most visited museums and galleries in the world. The collection holds masterpieces of international and British modern art. From Picasso's "The Three Dancers", to Dali's "Autumnal Canibbalism", to Rothko's "The Seagram Murals", to Duschamp's "Fountain", to Parreno's "Anywhen", Tate Modern is a one stop shop for modern art lovers.
Top 10 Objects To Surprise You At The British Museum
The British Museum is the most visited museum in London. Visitors from all over the world are drawn to the museum to see with their own eyes world-famous artefacts, such as the Rosetta Stone or the Parthenon frieze, artefacts that might have only be seen in school or art books. They also come to experience other cultures, because after all the British Museum is the museum of the world for the world. But for the discerning visitor a scratch beneath the surface of all the "celebrity" objects can reveal some real surprises. Here is my list of such surprises.
America After the Fall: Painting in the 1930s Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
The art of 1930s America tells the story of a nation in flux. Artists responded to rapid social change and economic anxiety with some of the 20th century's most powerful art – brought Grant Wood, American Gothic, 1930 together now in this once-in-a-generation show. 45 truly iconic works paint an electrifying portrait of this transformative period.
Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
One hundred years on from the Russian Revolution, this powerful exhibition explores one of the most momentous periods in modern world history through the lens of its groundbreaking art. Renowned artists including Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall and Rodchenko were among those to live through the fateful events of 1917, which ended centuries of Tsarist rule and shook Russian society to its foundations.
11 Major Museum Exhibitions in London for 2017
Contributing to London as a cultural mecca are 200+ museums, many of which can be explored with a knowledgeable Blue Badge Tourist Guide. Each has permanent collections as well as major exhibitions to help draw in visitors. Highlighted below are 11 major museum exhibitions happening in London during the 2017 calendar year.
Natural History Museum Diplodocus Going On Tour
The Charterhouse Museum & Cafe Opens in January 2017
The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John Collection Exhibition at Tate Modern
Intrigue: James Ensor by Luc Tuymans Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
Visiting The Jewish Museum London
Portrait of the Artist Exhibition at The Queen's Gallery
Abstract Expressionism Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
Picasso Portraits Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery
Wifredo Lam Exhibition at Tate Modern
South Africa - The Art of a Nation Exhibition at British Museum
Beatrix Potter's London Display at Victoria & Albert Museum
The British Museum Announces Most Successful Year Ever
The Camera Exposed Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
National Portrait Gallery - BP Portrait Award 2016
Record Visitor Figures for New Tate Modern Switch House
David Hockney Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
Elytra Filament Pavilion at Victoria & Albert Museum
9 Facts About The Queen's House Celebrating 400th Anniversary
Black Chronicles Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery
Colour & Vision - Through The Eyes Of Nature Exhibition at Natural History Museum
Tate Modern's Switch House Opens 17 June 2016
Georgia O'Keeffe Exhibition at Tate Modern
Rolling Stones Exhibitionism Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery
Engineering The World Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
Sunken Cities - Eqypt's Lost Worlds Exhibition at British Museum
Submerged under the sea for over a thousand years, two lost cities of ancient Egypt were recently rediscovered. Their story is told for the first time in what is expected to be a blockbuster exhibition at the British Museum – Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds.
Sicily Culture & Conquest Exhibition at British Museum
The Sicily Culture & Conquest exhibition is currently on display at the British Museum. Sicily has been shaped by waves of conquest and settlement by different peoples over 4,000 years. Since the 8th century BC, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans all settled or invaded the island, lured by its fertile lands and strategic location.
Visiting the Royal Academy of Music Museum
Painting with Light: Art and Photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the Modern Age Exhibition at Tate Britain
Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
Fashioning A Reign: 90 years of Style from the Queen's Wardrobe
Maria Merian's Butterflies Exhibition at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
500 Years of Records at the UK Parliamentary Archives
British Library Acquires Kenneth Williams's Archive
The British Library has announced the acquisition of the personal archive of Kenneth Williams, including 43 personal diaries and approximately 2,000 letters spanning his entire life and career from the age of 18 until his death in 1988.
Artist Subodh Gupta Exhibits When Soak Becomes Spill At Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria & Albert Museum has unveiled When Soak Becomes Spill, a major new installation by leading Indian contemporary artist Subodh Gupta.
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
Using the work of Monet as a starting point, The Royal Academy of Arts landmark exhibition Painting The Modern Garden: Monet To Matisse examines the role gardens played in the evolution of art from the early 1860s through to the 1920s.
The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson Exhibition at The Holburne Museum
Interested in comic art? Then consider organising a Bath tour with one of our Blue Badge Tourist Guides and be sure to check out the High Spirits: The Comic Art of Thomas Rowlandson exhibition at Holburne Museum of Art.
Dutch Artists In The Age of Vermeer Exhibition at The Queen's Gallery
Launching on 13th November 2015 at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace is a new exhibition titled: Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer.
Crystal Sceptre Given To The City of London by King Henry V On Display At Guildhall
From 24 October 2015 until 3 December 2015, the Crystal Sceptre given by Henry V to the City of London in grateful thanks for their help in loaning him money for the Battle of Agincourt will be on show at the Guildhall Art Gallery.
The Bejewelled Treasures Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria & Albert Museum will launch The Bejewelled Treasures: The Al Thani Collection exhibition on 21 November 2015. Spectacular objects, drawn from a single private collection, will explore the broad themes of tradition and modernity in Indian jewellery.
Jean-Etienne Liotard Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts is showcasing an exhibition on the work of Jean-Etienne Liotard who was an artist in great demand across Enlightenment Europe and beyond.
Frank Auerbach Exhibition at Tate Britain
Tate Britain has launched an exhibition featuring Frank Auerbach (b 1931, Berlin), a British artist who has made some of the most vibrant, alive and inventive paintings of recent times. Often compared to Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud in terms of the revolutionary and powerful nature of his work, his depictions of people and the urban landscapes near his London studio show him to be one of the greatest painters alive today.
6 Exhibitions To Look Forward To At Victoria & Albert Museum In 2016
The Victoria & Albert Museum established in 1857 by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design and houses a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. This vast collection is stored and displayed in a number of buildings over 12 acres of land in the South Kensington area of London, with over a third of a mile in circumference. These objects along with a wide range of exhibitions make the Victoria & Albert Museum one of the more popular tourist attractions in London. Below we highlight six upcoming exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
The Fabric of India Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
The Fabric of India exhibition will be the highlight of the Victoria & Albert Museum India Festival and will explore the dynamic and multifaceted world of handmade textiles from India from the 3rd to the 21st century.
The World Goes Pop Exhibition at Tate Modern
Whaaam! Pop! Kapow! This is pop art, but not as you know it. Tate Modern is ready to tell a global story of pop art, breaking new ground along the way, and revealing a different side to the artistic and cultural phenomenon.
5 Reasons To Visit The Royal Academy of Music Museum
Below are 5 reasons why the Royal Academy of Music Museum in London is a must for music lovers!
Rolling Stones Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery
In April 2016 the Saatchi Gallery will host the Rolling Stones exhibition Exhibitionism which will cover their 50-year history through more than 500 articles.
Ai Weiwei Exhibition at Royal Academy
From 19 September to 13 December 2015 the major artist and cultural phenomenon Ai Weiwei takes over the main galleries at the Royal Academy of Arts with brave, provocative and visionary works.
Celts Art And Identity Exhibition at British Museum
This autumn the British Museum, in partnership with National Museums Scotland, will stage the first British exhibition in 40 years on the Celts. Celts: Art And Identity opens at the British Museum on 24 September and will draw on the latest research from Britain, Ireland and Western Europe.
Kew Garden News: New Waterlily Species Found
A new waterlily species has been found on a plant-hunting expedition in a remote spot in Kimberley, Western Australia. As plant-hunter Carlos Magdalena investigated the waterlily, it became clear this was not the first time the species has been encountered by Kew Garden experts.
Joseph Cornell: Wanderlust Exhibition at Royal Academy
From a basement in New York, Joseph Cornell channelled his limitless imagination into some of the most original art of the 20th century. Cornell hardly ventured beyond New York State, yet the notion of travel was central to his art. His imaginary voyages began as he searched Manhattan's antique bookshops and dime stores, collecting a vast archive of paper ephemera and small objects to make his signature glass-fronted 'shadow boxes'.
Audrey Hepburn Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery
Currently at the National Portrait Gallery is a fascinating photographic exhibition on the life of actress and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Serpentine Pavilion 2015 Designed By Selgascano
The Serpentine Gallery unveiled its 15th annual summer pavilion on 22 June brining a touch of Glastonbury to Kensington Gardens in the form of a giant multi-coloured tent.
Frames in Focus Exhibition at National Gallery
The Frames in Focus: Sansovino Frames exhibition marks the first in a series of exhibitions at the National Gallery which will explore specific frame types; bringing together 30 exquisite examples of this distinctive style of frame associated with Venice and the Veneto.
Soundscapes Exhibition at National Gallery
Soundscapes (8 July – 6 September 2015) is part of the National Gallery Inspires programme of exhibitions. Drawn from the National Gallery collection, the exhibitions take a fresh view of National Gallery paintings. Soundscapes has commissioned musicians and sound artists to select a painting from the collection and compose a new piece of music or sound art in response. Immersive and site-specific, the experience encourages visitors to 'hear' the paintings and 'see' the sound.
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2015
Since 1769, famous artists, aspiring professionals and amateurs have submitted their work for the event of the summer - the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition. It is the world's oldest open-submission exhibition that had famous artists such as Reynolds, Constable and Turner; amateur artists such as Winston Churchill (1955) showing off their talents at this prestigious event. This is a popular event with an annual 200,000 people visiting the exhibition.
Fighting History Exhibition at Tate Britain
The Fighting History exhibition launching at Tate Britain in June will focus on the conflict, martyrdom and catastrophe found in history painting from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Barbara Hepworth:Sculpture for a Modern World exhibition at Tate Britain
Tate Britain will open the first major Barbara Hepworth exhibition in London for almost fifty years. Barbara Hepworth (1903–75) is most commonly associated with St Ives, Cornwall, where she lived from 1939 until her death in 1975.
Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea exhibition at Natural History Museum
The Coral Reefs: Secret Cities of the Sea exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London explores the richness of life beneath the waves and the importance of these delicate ecosystems and includes more than 200 specimens spanning corals, fish and fossils, a live coral reef and a virtual dive through stunning imagery from the Catlin Seaview Survey.
Wildlife Garden at Natural History Museum Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary
Few visitors to the Natural History Museum are aware of the 'living exhibit' in the grounds. However, this year, the low-profile Wildlife Garden celebrates its 20-year anniversary.
Charles Dickens Desk Saved For Nation
Although on display at the Charles Dickens Museum in Doughty Street, the desk was privately owned and although it had been passed down through the Dickens family after his death in 1870, it was auctioned for the Great Ormond Street Charitable Trust in 2004.
Bethlem Museum Of The Mind Opens
The Bethlem Royal Hospital better known as Bedlam was set up in 1247 as Europe's first centre dedicated to the treatment of psychiatric illness. It has moved between various locations in London – including at the building that is now the Imperial War Museum.
Shoes: Pleasure And Pain Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
The Shoes: Please And Pain exhibition will look at the extremes of footwear from around the globe, presenting around 200 pairs of shoes ranging from a sandal decorated in pure gold leaf originating from ancient Egypt to the most elaborate designs by contemporary makers.
Sonia Delaunay Exhibition at Tate Modern
A new exhibition at Tate Modern will showcase the work of Sonia Delaunay (1885–1979) who was a key figure in the Parisian avant-garde and became the European doyenne of abstract art.
Sculpture Victorious Exhibition at Tate Britain
Powerful, beautiful and inventive, the Victorian era was a golden age for sculpture. Tate Britain's exhibition Sculpture Victorious celebrates some of the most astonishing and lavish works produced in this groundbreaking period.
All Of This Belongs To You Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
At a time when Britain will be engaged in the democratic process of an election, the Victoria & Albert Museum will examine the role of public institutions in contemporary life and what it means to be responsible for a national collection.
What is Luxury? Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria & Albert Museum in London will showcase a What is Luxury? exhibition which will interrogate ideas of luxury today. It will address how luxury is made and understood in a physical, conceptual and cultural capacity.
Wellington - Triumphs, Politics And Passions Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery
A rarely seen portrait of the Duke of Wellington goes on view at the National Portrait Gallery as part of exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815) and illustrates his extraordinary life as a soldier and statesman.
Richard Diebenkorn Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts will host an exhibition of the works of Richard Diebenkorn. Revered as one of the great post-war masters in his native United States, Richard Diebenkorn is an artist whose staunchly independent career takes us from abstraction to figuration and back again. He is described by the Washington Post as one of America's "finest abstract painters."
Smithsonian Comes To London
One of America's most revered cultural institutions, The Smithsonian, is in talks about building an outpost on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford Waterfront, close to the site of the former Water Polo Arena.
Michelangelo Bronzes Discovered
Two 'lost' statues have been identified as original Michelangelo sculptures – and are possibly the only surviving bronzes by him, experts have claimed. The pair, which show naked young men riding panthers, are described as 'phenomenally important' and, if truly by the master, would solve one of the greatest mysteries in art history.
Marlene Dumas Exhibition at Tate Modern
Marlene Dumas is one of the most prominent painters working today. Her intense, psychologically charged works explore themes of sexuality, love, death and shame, often referencing art history, popular culture and current affairs.
Star Wars Exhibition at Madame Tussauds London
Madame Tussauds London is opening a new Star Wars experience in Baker Street on Saturday, 16th May.
Painting Paradise: The Art Of The Garden
Whether a sacred sanctuary, a place for scientific study, a haven for the solitary thinker or a space for pure enjoyment and delight, gardens are where mankind and nature meet. A new exhibition at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace will explore the many ways in which the garden has been celebrated in art through over 150 paintings, drawings, books, manuscripts and decorative arts from the Royal Collection, including some of the earliest and rarest surviving records of gardens and plants.
John Singer Sargent Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was the greatest portrait painter of his generation. Acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic, he was closely connected to many of the other leading artists, writers, actors and musicians of the time. His portraits of these friends and contemporaries, including Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet and Robert Louis Stevenson, were rarely commissioned and allowed him to create more intimate and experimental works than was possible in his formal portraiture.
Top 7 London Museums
There is no shortage of excitement and interesting places to visit while in London, but there is also a great deal of culture. If you are looking to expand your horizons or you are keen to find out more about the world that we live in, you will find that the top London museums will provide you with fascinating insight into the world around us.
New Stegosaurus Skeleton at Natural History Museum
A spectacular Stegosaurus skeleton was unveiled on 4 December at the Natural History Museum in London. It is the first complete dinosaur specimen to go on display at the Natural History Museum in nearly 100 years. The 150 million year old Stegosaurus stenops is the only Stegosaurus in a public collection outside the USA.
Rubens and his Legacy: Van Dyck to Cezanne Exhibition
This exhibition will bring together masterpieces produced during Rubens' lifetime, as well as major works by great artists who were influenced by him in the generations that followed.
Waterloo at Windsor: 1815-2015 Exhibition
2015 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and the defeat of Napoleon. In celebration of the allied victory, George IV created the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle, a grand space filled with portraits of those instrumental in the victory, among them the Duke of Wellington.
The 2012 Olympic Cauldron at the Museum of London
For all of the Blue Badge Tourist Guides who led tours around and in the London Olympic Park, one of the most frequently asked questions was 'Who will be chosen to light the Olympic Flame? How will it work on the night?' But of course, it was as much of a mystery to us, as to everyone else!
Allen Jones Exhibition at Royal Academy of Arts
A new exhibition showcasing the career of British Pop artist Allen Jones, from the 1960s (when alongside peers like Hockney and Caulfield he was closely associated with the rise of Pop Art) to the present day will open at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Cairo to Constantinople Exhibition at Royal Collection Trust
There is a new exhibition titled: Cairo to Constantinople – Early Photographs of the Middle East in the Queen's Gallery at the Royal Trust Collection which follows the journey taken by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) in 1862, as he undertook a four month tour around the Middle East.
Russian Avant-Garde Theatre Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
A new display in the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the Victoria & Albert Museum titled Russian Avant-garde Theatre: War Revolution and Design 1913 – 1933 presents more than 150 radical designs for theatrical productions by celebrated figures of the Russian avant-garde.
Conflict, Time, Photography Exhibition at Tate Modern
Timed specifically to coincide with the centenary of the First World War, this exhibition concerns the relationship between photography and sites of conflict over time, highlighting the fact that time itself is a fundamental aspect of the photographic medium.
Turner Exhibition at Petworth House & Tate Britian
Joseph Mallord William Turner was not the most sociable of men but he found a true friend in George O'Brien, Third Earl of Egremont and owner of Petworth House in Sussex. The Earl was a sociable and generous aristocrat with a love of art, a large house and an open purse. Every year he had a party in the grounds of Petworth for the local community on his birthday and, when 6000 people turned up one time, he made sure they were all welcomed, fed and watered.
The Queen's Gallery Gold Exhibition at Royal Trust Collection
The Queen's Gallery Gold exhibition at the Royal Collection Trust celebrates the enduring qualities of gold, and draws on works of art from the Bronze Age to the present day. The distinctive properties of gold – its lustre and its warm yellow colour which appears to mirror the sun, its rarity and its perceived purity, because it does not tarnish, have meant that this material has always been associated with the highest status, both earthly and divine.
Sherlock Holmes Exhibition at Museum of London
This year the Museum of London welcomes an exciting new exhibition, delving into the mind of the world's famous fictional detective, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition at Natural History Museum
The acclaimed Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition premieres at London's Natural History Museum each year and tours more than 60 cities in the United Kingdom and across the world.
Giovanni Battista Moroni Exhibition at Royal Academy
This is the first comprehensives exhibition in the United Kingdom of Giovanni Battista Moroni's work. He was one of the greatest portraits of 16th century Italy. Famed for his gift capturing the exact likeness of his sitters, he created portraits that are as penetrating and powerful now as they were more than 400 years ago.
Anselm Kiefer retrospective at Royal Academy
In September 2014, the Royal Academy will present the first major retrospective of work to be held in the UK by Honorary Royal Academician, Anselm Kiefer. This will be the most significant exhibition of the German artist's work ever held in the UK, spanning his entire 40-year career and unveiling new work created in direct response to the Royal Academy's spaces.
Wallace Collection Reopens 19 September
The Great Gallery, one of the finest collections of Old Master paintings in the world, is reopening on 19 September with a new hang following its two-year refurbishment.
John Constable Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
This major exhibition titled Constable: The Making of a Master will reassess John Constable's influences, techniques and legacy to offer a new interpretation of one of Britian's best-loved artist. Discover how great works are created as Constable's most famous masterpieces are united with revoluntary oil sketches: expressive evocations of land, sea and sky that allowed him to transfer the freshness of the outdoors into his exhibition paintings.
Dippy at Natural History Museum in peril as museum is given £5M
The Natural History Museum has received its largest donation but a much-loved feature, a dinosaur replica, Dippy could be removed. Sir Michael Hintze gave the London museum £5m to improve galleries and aid research.
2014 Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy
The Royal Academy's annual Summer Exhibition is the world's largest open submission contemporary art show. Now in its 246th year, the 2014 exhibition continues the tradition of showcasing work by both emerging and established artists in all media, including painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, architecture and film.
Mammoths: Ice Age Giants at Natural History Museum
Be awestruck as huge fossils and life-size models of mammoths and their relative's tower above you and meet Lyuba, the world's most complete mammoth, as she takes centre stage in the Mammoth's Ice Age Giants exhibition at the Natural History Museum.
Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty at Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria & Albert Museum has announced that Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty exhibition is coming to London in 2015. This is the first and largest retrospective of McQueen's work to be presented in Europe.
Disobedient Objects Exhibition at Victoria & Albert Museum
From a Suffragette tea service to protest robots, the Disobedient Objects exhibition coming to the Victoria & Albert Museum will be the first to examine the powerful role of objects in movements for social change.
Louis Kahn Exhibition at Design Museum
The Design Museum is currently showcasing an exhibition of American architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974) who is regarded as one of the great master builders of the Twentieth Century. Kahn created buildings of monumental beauty with powerful universal symbolism.
Goodbye Piccadilly Exhibition at London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum has launced a new exhibition Goodbye Piccadilly – From Home Front to Western Front which will run from Friday 16 May 2014 to Sunday, 8 March 2015. A key theme in the exhibition is the acceleration of social change as a result of the outbreak of war.
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